Coming of War
by Mugglewizard
Summary: Ch1 Dumbledore is worried about loads of things, the least being the 11 year old he has just met. Ch2 The end of a war and its scars
1. Chapter 1

**The Coming of War**

Albus Dumbledore was a very worried man. The boy he had just met had done that to him to no extent. The meeting with the Matron had done little to cause the worry as compared to meeting the actual boy.

The words had hit him like a sledgehammer at the time. Now as he contemplated them even further, he realised the full meaning of them. "Its magic that I can do." That had been the start. He had known. He was conscious of his powers yet he had used them to bully other children. He had said it himself; he can make them do things. That was never a good statement whoever said it. It was a pity the boy had refused to be accompanied to Diagon Alley. It would have been interesting t further observe the boy. Albus decided to keep an eye at him when he came to Hogwarts. The boy: Tom Marvolo Riddle.

Him being a parsletongue had been no issue at all. It was the use of a gift that mattered no matter the gift. Albus blinked away the after effect of apparition to find out he had made it to Hogsmeade. He turned to head towards Hogwarts but before he could take a step he ran into someone as tall as him. Their eyes met and reflected each others sparkling blue colour.

"Albus," the man acknowledged before adding, "Interesting suit."

"Aberforth." Albus replied kindly.

"You look worried. But of course you should. Your friend is becoming a little famous, ain't he?"

Before Albus could reply though Aberforth had flashed a newspaper under his nose. The headlines were clear and screaming, "More Deaths Attributed to Grindelwald."

"It looks like he has got himself another set friends. Nothing matching your intelligence but perhaps they beat you in their cruelty. Looks like he decided you don't have the stomach after…" Aberforth suddenly stopped. He glared at Albus and tossing the paper to the ground he walked away.

Albus bent to pick up the newspaper and read the article hurriedly. None of it was news for him but something else had clicked into place. Now he realised where he had seen the same streak of arrogance before Tom. It had been the same with him and his former friend.

He looked at his brother's retreating back as his thoughts went to the unspoken words his brother had almost spat at him. Aberforth was still angry with him. Albus sighed. He enjoyed an occasional drink at the Hog's Head but his brother would soon start working there. He wondered how they were going to get along. Maybe seeing each other more regularly would put them at ease. This new discovery made him want to keep an even closer eye on Tom.

Tom! He had hated the name. He had thought it was too common. Dumbledore permitted a chuckle at such childishness. But he realised he couldn't prejudice the other professors at Hogwarts. After all even he Albus Dumbledore, Professor of Transfiguration at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry had been tempted to take over the world by use of magic.

For the Greater good, he remembered. He suddenly laughed out loud. He stopped as suddenly as people began staring at him. He understood of course. A man dressed in a purple suit suddenly bursts out laughing. He would think himself mad. He shook his head and decided to increase his pace and make it to Hogwarts faster. He was at the gates in no time. He waved his wand and the gates opened letting him before shutting behind him. Albus Dumbledore looked around at the vast grounds of Hogwarts. The school looked empty without its usual cluster of students. They were the actual charm of the castle. He set up a brisk pace towards the castle itself. He saw Ogg, the gamekeeper near the Forbidden Forest who waved to him. Dumbledore waved back and hurried on before Ogg could ask him how to tame Thestrals again. He found the castle doors open and crossed into the Entrance hall where a man was waiting for him

"Professor. The Headmaster said he wants to have a word with you as soon as you came." Mr Pringle the School Caretaker announced.

"Did he tell you why?" Albus was surprised.

"No but I think he has a guest with him."

That surprised Albus even more as he turned to head for the Headmaster's office. There usually were no guests in the school during the holidays. He soon found himself in front of the stone gargoyles that stood before the entrance to the office of Armando Dippet, Headmaster.

"Centaurs," Albus said and the two stone gargoyles sprung aside permitting him to enter the staircase. The stairs took him to the headmaster's office. He knocked and got an affirmative response from inside. He stepped into the office to see two men occupying it. One was seated behind the desk while the other in front of it. But both were looking at him intently. The office was serenely quiet as the portraits of all the previous head teacher's were not snoring or acting to be asleep but rather staring at the three men in the room.

"Headmaster, Minister," Dumbledore acknowledged them.

"Albus. I am sure you must be surprised to see me here." The slightly elderly man began without a preamble. He waved for Albus to take a seat and he did. "Well I am sure you have today's Daily Prophet." He added without waiting for a response from Albus.

"But all that is not news." Albus said.

"Knowledgeable as ever I see. Yes those people died a week or so ago. But as they were in Bulgaria and Germany, well the Daily Prophet hasn't been that er interested in reporting them." The Minister smiled apologetically. "But I am not here on that matter but rather something related.

Albus leaned forward, his eyes boring into the Ministers, his thoughts already racing around all the possibilities.  
"You must be reading the Muggle Newspapers as well I am sure. You know what is going on there.'

Albus merely nodded but Dippet who had been silent to that point spoke, "About the talks of war? You can't think they will. Not after the losses they suffered in the Great War."

"Oh there is definitely going to be war." Albus finally said after a moment of silence. The Minister gave him a searching look then sighed.

"You think Grindelwald is in Germany then, don't you?"

"Yes. The experiments that they describe can only be done by him. To treat Muggles like they… It has to be him. But if the Muggle government is under his spell or going along with it, I don't know." Dumbledore answered the question that was on the Minister's mind.

There was a short pause broken by Dippet clearing his throat. "You know him personally then?"

"Yes."

"Well what I came to ask is this. If Grindelwald uses magic against Britain in the event of war then we will have to respond in kind. I am a little too old to lead our community into war. We need someone with prodigious skills who can match Gellet Grindelwald himself and make sure that we win. There is only one person in the Wizarding community, and that is you Albus. Armando here agrees with me and he has agreed to let you go with a heavy heart."

He had expected it, the offer to be the Minister of Magic. But he had long decided that he did not trust himself in any position of power. He had promised himself as his younger brother struck the blow that had broken his nose. That had been the reason he had left the nose as it was. It was a reminder. Aberforth's unspoken accusation of a little while back echoed in his brain as he took a deep breath to decline the most generous offer.

"I am sorry Minister. I do thank you for your compliment. But I am a teacher and I do not intend to leave this position from where many young minds can benefit. You are more than capable of leading us through a state of if it indeed comes to that, but I doubt that Grindelwald will meddle actively in the war. I am sure he fears us; his decision of deciding to go to Germany proves that. When the need arises I shall not shy away from facing Gellet Grindelwald, but I cannot be the Minister of Magic."

**A/N  
I tried to create the atmosphere pre world war 2 as I attempted to write this. I am really hoping that I managed to carry it off.  
The great war is of course World War one that is how it was referred to at that time**

**I would also appreciate if someone could be able to beta my stories.  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N World War II is finished but that is not the only pain an old man is suffering. With the end of a war there comes the tidings of another.**

**I Don't own the Harry Potter world or its characters**

**The New Headmaster  
**

The old man stood up from the chair he had been sitting on. He placed the glass he had been holding at the table in front of him. His silvery white beard swayed slightly as he turned to face the bar man. The two men's blue eyes met as the bar man nodded. The bar man had been gazing at the old man sited at the table for quite some time now. But the gaze had softened over the years. Just ten years ago it would have been a glare. But not now, especially not today.

"Good luck today Albus. Hope your first day goes well." The bar man spoke up.

"Thank you Aberforth." Albus replied as he turned to leave the bar. Aberforth stared at his brother's back for sometime before sighing slightly. Albus had redeemed himself in his eyes but only slightly. That had been ten years ago but neither man spoke of it or referred to it but their relation had improved since Albus became known as The Man who Defeated Dark Lord Grindelwald.

Albus Dumbledore walked slowly towards Hogwarts. He had won the battle with Grindelwald but he still had his internal battle to consider. What had pained him most was the fact that he had known Grindelwald quite well. They had been friends. Albus had trusted him and had been ready to form a better world with him. He scoffed as he remembered the teenage caption he had used so often and the one Gellet finally used for his army. For the greater good it had been. But in the end it had been for everyone's good that Gellet Grindelwald be defeated. Dumbledore had never been afraid of facing Grindelwald magically. What he had been afraid of was something totally different.

Grindelwald's last words before he had collapsed from the array of spells on him and magical exhaustion would always haunt and burn deep in Dumbledore. They had been two sentences but had turned Albus into an old broken man. "It was your wand Albus. Not mine." Albus had aged at that moment both from the magical strain of the duel and the emotional bomb.

Dumbledore had been offered the post of Headmaster of Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry immediately after Armando Dippet died. He had accepted the offer but was now a little unsure of it now. He looked up suddenly as he realized he had already reached the castle. He shook his head slightly and went past the gates, entering the grounds for the first time as a Headmaster. Exams were coming up soon and the castle was silent. Dumbledore walked across the grounds towards the castle when he saw a tall figure in the distance. Although the man looked large and menacing Dumbledore knew he was an absolute loyal and gentle person.

Watching Reubus Hagrid made him remember the new rumour that had begun spreading in the wizarding world. They were many but always whispered. There was raw fear in the rumour it self. People took the name after glancing around and only whispered it for the intended person to hear. Voldemort. A chill suddenly travelled up Dumbledore's spine. Had he let his student Tom Marvolo Riddle become Voldemort just as he had let Grindelwald become the Dark Lord.

"Maybe I shouldn't have taken this post." He thought as he entered the castle.

"Professor, perhaps you can look into a small matter I have her. I have confisticated this box of sweets here from the Prewetts. They were intending to give to all the students outside class and it is forbidden to eat anything in class. They claimed their sister has sent it for them." Pringle the caretaker interrupted Albus' thoughts. The Prewett brothers had been a problem for him for a long time and had finally resorted to threatening him to wait for their little sister to arrive at Hogwarts. But he would have them now. Although this was a minor infraction but if he could convince the new headmaster to start being strict from the very start all the troublemakers would be dealt with in no time.

"Yes, yes Mr. Pringle. I am aware of that rule. I shall look into it." Dumbledore sighed, a look of sadness in his eyes. He knew the Prewett brothers well and had heard a lot about their sister Molly who was a fire brand who always got her own back. But Dumbledore did not care about that at the moment. He soon reached the gargoyles that immediately sprang to the sides letting him pass into the office.

He was almost deafened by the cheers that erupted when he entered his new office. All the portraits on the wall were applauding and waving to Dumbledore. "An absolutely perfect choice." An old man with an ear trumpet was yelling wildly.

"Thank you very much but I really need to consider some things." Albus said as he looked at the box in his hand. He opened it and saw that the sweets were acid pops and he decided to have one. He had just placed the sweet in his mouth when there was a loud bang and Dumbledore, the greatest wizard this century and the defeater of the Dark Lord Grindelwald stood shocked as he noticed that his long beard had taken to display a dazzling array of the seven rainbow colours.

Dumbledore suddenly chuckled as a small tear ran down his cheek. He had not done that for ten years. He wondered if Molly Prewett would ever realize she had pranked the new headmaster before she even came to Hogwarts. He ran his fingers through his new colourful beard feeling oddly light and free of burdens. A feeling he last remembered having has a student.

A simple prank had powers he had not imagined before and he gave another chuckle before he thought that he might not be a bad headmaster after all.

**A/N This was an entry I submitted to the FAD Last Author Standing in Cosforums. Hope you enjoy it.**


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